


I did not eat your pudding

by darcynne



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, are they friends? do they have feelings? you decide, cause tbh i'm not sure either, midnight snacks, they're soft when they don't throw hands at each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darcynne/pseuds/darcynne
Summary: “Why’d you accompany me? You could’ve just gone back to sleep.”There is a pause."I…" To be honest, Banri doesn’t know why either. He knows he has a reason. The words are already on the tip of his tongue, ready to roll out any second now, but at the same time he also fails to understand. He has no idea on what to say. It's as if his subconscious refuses to give him a clear answer on how he truly feels, preventing him from realizing something he should've known a long time ago.Set after Picaresque.
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza & Settsu Banri, Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri
Kudos: 69





	I did not eat your pudding

Banri wakes up to the constant shuffling of bedsheets. It’s just Hyodo being weird in his sleep again, Banri thinks to himself. Shrugging it off as another one of Hyodo’s habits, he buries his face onto his pillow in an attempt to go back to sleep. But when the familiar squeaking of the ladder on Hyodo’s bed starts to fill in the silence of their room, Banri figures that no, he actually isn’t sleeping. Curious on what Hyodo is up to, Banri cranes his neck to where the sounds are coming from.

The dark makes it difficult for Banri to see what exactly is happening, though he is still able to make out Hyodo’s figure. Banri observes Hyodo as he scans the room, his eyes more wary than usual, as if Banri isn't the only person with him. Slowly but surely, he tiptoes his way out like a cat ready to pounce anytime. As Hyodo reaches out to the doorknob, Banri can’t help but be suspicious of Hyodo’s sneaky behavior, so he gives himself away. “Where are you going?”

Hyodo freezes in his tracks. His head whips to Banri’s direction and gulps hard, shock evident in his eyes. After a moment of awkward silence, Hyodo averts his gaze guiltily. He hasn’t even done anything yet. What a wuss, Banri inwardly comments. It’s probably not something serious. “None of your business.”

Banri gasps in mock surprise. “I show concern and this is what I get?” Hyodo scowls from the reply, wordlessly daring Banri to pry further into whatever he is up to. In hindsight, Hyodo is right, it really is none of his business. Banri can just leave Hyodo alone and let him do what he wants. Banri is not obliged to care, to worry for his well-being, because they're not exactly labelled as friends, right?

So when Banri blurts out something along the lines of him coming with Hyodo, it catches Hyodo off guard. And so does Banri. He puts the blame on not being fully awake. Too groggy to think straight. But he makes no move to take back what he just said, slipping his phone in his pocket as he climbed down his bed.

He walks to Hyodo. “Let’s go.” Hyodo does not say anything as he opens the door, and Banri takes it as a cue to follow him.

In all honesty, Banri is not expecting that they’ll go to the kitchen.

Banri simply stands on the corner, dumbfounded, as he watches Hyodo grab a plate and a fork from the dish rack, making a beeline to the fridge right after to pull out a slice of strawberry cake. Leftover from the cakes Omi baked this morning, Banri assumes.

This isn’t what Banri had in mind earlier. He expected something far more interesting than Hyodo stuffing his face with sweets on—Banri glances on the wall clock—one in the morning. So much for trying to be very sneaky. He eyes Hyodo incredulously, “That’s it?”

Hyodo raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“You snuck out to eat? Literally just that?”

“If you only came here to watch me then leave.”

“I don’t wanna.” Banri's expression is placid, completely set on staying in the kitchen with Hyodo. It’s probably not a bad idea to munch on something, he absentmindedly wonders. Come to think of it, he left some pudding in the fridge yesterday. Banri has written his name on it, so he should be able to find it easily.

Except there is no pudding. Not a single one. He shoots Hyodo a questioning gaze as he points at an empty spot in the fridge, where the pudding is supposed to be. Hyodo mutters while chewing, “I did not eat your pudding.”

So it is him. “At least wait for me to ask before you lie your way out, dumbass!”

“I’m sorry.” A small chuckle peals from Hyodo's lips. It is short and sweet. How unapologetic. Despite that, a smile makes its way onto Banri's lips. Hyodo is forgiven. For now. “The pudding was good.”

“It should taste good! If it tasted like crap then why would I buy it.” Banri rolls his eyes. Groaning from his pudding getting eaten by somebody else, Banri opts instead for the last slice of strawberry cake in the fridge, inwardly apologizing to whoever actually wants it as he takes it. Except Hyodo. He has eaten too many slices of cake for Banri to feel bad.

Settling on the seat in front of Hyodo, he swipes a portion of the thick frosting with his fork and gives it a taste. He frowns a bit. “Did Omi make this for you?”

Small nod. “You could say that.”

“No wonder.” Banri sighs knowingly. “Too sweet. Sort of.”

“Give it to me, then.”

“No.” Banri sticks out his tongue childishly. Hyodo says nothing as he continues to eat, and Banri follows suit.

They both fall into silence, the air filled with nothing but the sounds of their utensils clinking. It’s one of the rare instances beyond the walls of their room where Banri is comfortable enough on being alone with Hyodo, not feeling the need to say anything to dwindle the tension forming between them. In the back of his mind, he wishes that this would happen more often. Easier said than done, because Banri finds it difficult to understand Hyodo through silence. But when one of them opens his mouth, the other gets provoked. For some odd reason, their banters turned into something that gives him comfort, a reassurance that the both of them can still tolerate each other somehow.

In all his musings, Hyodo’s eyes have been on him for a while now, his eyebrows furrowing in deep thought. Banri puts his fork down. “If you have something to say, spit it out.”

Hyodo’s gaze shifts to the wall behind Banri. The part of Banri's body that Hyodo stared at from earlier still burns, tingles, and he tries his hardest not to think about it. Hyodo looks down to his half-eaten cake, poking his fork to the strawberry. "Why’d you accompany me? You could’ve just gone back to sleep.”

There is a pause.

"I…" To be honest, Banri doesn’t know why either. He knows he has a reason. The words are already on the tip of his tongue, ready to roll out any second now, but at the same time he also fails to understand. He has no idea on what to say. It's as if his subconscious refuses to give him a clear answer on how he truly feels, preventing him from realizing something he should've known a long time ago.

Banri deliberates. Hesitates. Forces himself to speak up. “I just felt like it, I guess.” Even to him, his answer feels too lacking. Incomplete. Half-assed. But it really is the truth. And that's more than enough.

Hyodo stares intently to Banri’s eyes, as if he is looking for any signs of lying. Banri stares back just as hard as Hyodo does, or at least he tries to, because he'll never admit that deep inside he always wavers under Hyodo's intense gaze.

After a while his eyes soften, seemingly content with his answer. Banri releases a breath he never knew he was holding. "I see." He gobbles up the rest of his cake, standing up from his seat and places his dishes on the sink. “Last person to finish does the dishes. Thanks for doing mine.”

Banri gapes in disbelief. “That’s unfair!”

“Unfair? I’ll do yours the next time we do this. Then we will be even.”

The corners of Banri’s lips curl up into a beam. So there is going to be a next time. Knowing that makes him have something to look forward to the future.

“If you wanna be even then buy me pudding. You ate mine.”

A tiny smile ghosts on Hyodo's lips. “Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is just me being hungry for literally any juban interaction at 2 am i'm very sorry, also thank you for reading i super appreciate it!


End file.
